Why did I become a nurse? Well it was to pay the bills and have reasonable expectation of future employment. I am not an angel sent from heaven, or a nun and I took no vows of poverty or indentured servitude.

So interesting that people think nurses should be different than say, accountants, plumbers, or others who have families to feed and bills to pay.

I have no shame in my motivations. I am doing it for the money. I care for my patients, but I want to do it for free, there are missions for me to go on. And in the future, I will be. Til then, yea I want that paycheck and benefits. I earn them.

But would I cross a picket line? Nope. Never have, and won't start now nearly 20 years into it.

Would nurses rather be seen as plumbers or accountants? Plumbers have unions, trade professionals, accountants do not, educated professionals. I find it oxymoronic that the same nurses spewing that nurses aren't professional w/o the less experienced BSN are spewing the unprofessional notion of unions. No real profession is unionized.

For those of you criticizing the person who asked this question- why did you because a nurse? To be a self serving money maker? Or to help patients who are ill and need help? I for one chose the second reason- and I would work a strive any day. Because another human's life and wellbeing are not worth any paycheck- sorry- but it's a matter of priorities

Why did I become a nurse? Well it was to pay the bills and have reasonable expectation of future employment. I am not an angel sent from heaven, or a nun and I took no vows of poverty or indentured servitude.

So interesting that people think nurses should be different than say, accountants, plumbers, or others who have families to feed and bills to pay.

I have no shame in my motivations. I am doing it for the money. I care for my patients, but I want to do it for free, there are missions for me to go on. And in the future, I will be. Til then, yea I want that paycheck and benefits. I earn them.

But would I cross a picket line? Nope. Never have, and won't start now nearly 20 years into it.

This is just great, unions suck, get rid of unions, sure, and the old retired nurses who worked a union job and paid into their pension can lose their pension check and become homeless. The young generation as usual, not bothering to consider the elder. Hows about when you bop into work tomorrow you lay down the law to the nurses close to retirement? Look old lady, screw you, no pension, too bad! These ARE people who collect those pension checks. And oh yes, Ill expect the chapter and verse about finances and the facts on pensions being too expensive....good luck, youngsters, I hope you are FEEDING that 401k every single check, you're going to need the money....

Can someone tell me what a new grad (May '05) nurse can expect to make in different areas of Virginia, and who are the best employers to work for (in your opinion, of course)? Thanks.

(I now realize this topic might not be appropriate for an open forum, so please feel free to email me at jeanette.shaver@verizon.net. Thank you!!)

I think the topic is appropriate for an open forum. The Hospitals don't want you to know what each other make$. The hospital I just left in Arlington had new grads starting at about $23/h. up from $21. I didn't see any gender bias or any other bias for pay. Also, their night diff and weekend diff's were, on the whole, quite nice @ $4 each. Plus they have an in-house registry which allows you extra shifts at $10 bonus rate. The money is very nice, but it won't make you happy. My coworkers were the best part of my job.

Pay equity, a fifteen dollar an hour minimum wage, and education instead of incarceration will help these people get their lives together. No one should be financially stressed for decades for wanting an education.
An earned Defined Benefit retirement program is funded by the healthcare corporation not through the wages and labor of the employee.
None of this is a handout.

Some union detractors either have very poor memory or are ignorant about labor in the USA.

What have labor unions done for YOU?

Do you have paid vacation time?
Do you work fewer than 80 hours per week?
Are you provided paid sick time?
Do you get paid OT if you work more than approved hours?
Are there children working in your facility because they are cheaper than adults?

Agh... another 'me me me' person in the health care system. Did you ever stop and think; what does being a part of a Union do for US (as a whole, not the country - just in case you wanted to take that to the extreme as well)?

I think it wonderful you willing to be a strike nurse when given the opportunity. I had been on both sides of the sensitive issues concerning striking nurses and those nurses striking.
Hospitals would be NOTHING more then outpatient day clinics if it weren't for nurses. Upper management tends to forget that all to often. If nurses can actually unite, which is the biggest hurdle to face nurses today and perplexes me to no end because they really have all this power but don't know how to use it and strike. All I can say is bravo in support of every single one when they do unite and stand up for change and better the working conditions.
You and other that work a strike all I can say is bravo to you nurses too. It's because of you the real victims in all of this, our patients who are our neighbors, mother's, father's, relatives, grandparents, children, fellow nurses and victims of crime needs are taken care of. Thank you.

Huh? You think both sides are great? If nurses unite-- and I think "union" might be an operative word here -- how does it help to achieve our goals if someone is willing to mitigate the consequences to management by leaping into the breach?

Speaking of eating, I live in Florida, we don't have unions. We are by far one of the lowest paying states, and nursing here is hard as we have very sick older patients. I have been an ICU nurse for about 6 years, part time as of 2 years when I had my child, and if it wasn't for my husband's salary we would hardly be afloat. I made 31,000 last year, that's without insurance premium by the way, as I get them through my husband. What I find most unsettling is that the news coverage for these strikes comment on the nurses average salary and it's usually 3x what I make. So, call me a scab this scab will be laughing all the way to the bank.

So, is all of that supposed to be a rationalization for why you're willing to undercut your fellow nurses who have worked hard in other states in order to establish unions that do protect their salaries and working conditions? You want everyone else to have to have it as bad as you do? Nice.

I am starting as an RN at UVA in a couple months and have worked as a tech in critical care there for a little while now.

With 20 years experience, I am sure you could pick and choose from any ICU there. They are always hiring experienced nurses.

As for rotating shifts, that could mean a couple things. It could mean you do 6 weeks of days, than 6 weeks of nights. It could mean you just won't have a set schedule because weekends will be mandatory in most departments. That all depends on what you work out with management. UVA has tons of clinics, both local to Cville and in outlying areas. Those jobs of course have more normal hours, but you just don't see nearly as many openings.

As for getting your BSN at UVA, yes they have an ADN to BSN bridge program and will probably pay for most of it. Not sure if you can go straight from an ADN to the MSN CNL, but you may be able to.

And what would you recommend in its place? The old system has far too many cracks that people slipped through and were unable to obtain the preventive care they needed to reduce emergent and much more costly health care interventions. The old system was broken, the current system isn't perfect. It needs fixed, and repealing the PPACA won't do it unless there is a viable alternative.